Brassiere



Dec. 31, 1957 s. J. BLOCK ETAL BRASSIERE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1, 1955 SYDNEY J. BLOCK LESTER W. BLOCK IN VEN TORS GEW@.@:2;

THEIR ATTORNEY Dec. 31, 1957 s. J. BLOCK ETAL 2,817,842

' BRASSIERE Filed Dec. 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SYDNEY J. BLOCK LESTER w. BLOCK INVENTOR'S'.

4 True A/EY United States Patent 'Ofifice 2,817,842 Patented Dec. 31, 1957 BRASSIERE Sydney J Block and Lester W. Block, Culver City, Calif. Application December 1, 1955, Serial No. 555,823

2 Claims. (Cl. 2--42) This invention relates to a brassiere. This application is a continuation in part of our application Serial No. 475,525, filed December 15, 1954, now Patent No. 2,725,574.

'It is an object of our invention to provide a brassiere which, when worn, will provide the wearer with the type of bust line and figure which are currently in fashion. It has recently become the fashion for womens breasts to be higher and rounder than previously and womens dresses and other articles of wearing apparel are being so designed. Since it is impossible for most women to achieve this high and rounded appearance of the breasts with a conventional brassiere, it is an object of our invention to provide a brassiere which will achieve this result.

It is another object of our invention to provide such a brassiere which is simultaneously extremely comfortable for the wearer and which is so adaptable that it can be worn by substantially every woman.

Another object of our invention is to provide in a brassie-re a breast pad which is molded of foam rubber or the like and which is provided adjacent the lower portion thereof with a hemispherical mound which is disposed adjacent the body of the wearer in use. When the brassiere is worn, the breast of the wearer fits into hollow portions of the pad which are disposed above and on both sides of the mound, resulting in its causing the desired higher and more round appearance which is dicrated by fashion.

The upper portion of our breast pads serves to contain the breast and also to form the upper part of the breast cup portion of the brassiere, with the top edge of the cloth forming the breast cups being attached to the top edge of the breast pad to provide an improved appearance for the brassiere by preventing sagging of the tops of the breast cups and to provide anchoring of the upper portion of the breast pads.

It is .a further object of our invention to provide a brassiere in which the lower portions of the breast pads are free to shift position to accommodate the breasts and in which the breast pads cooperate with arcuate wires which encircle their lower portions to provide an improved and more comfortable brassiere construction of the class described.

It is particularly an object of the present invention to provide a brassiere and breast pad construction which in addition to elevating the breasts, as disclosed in our above mentioned previous application, also simultaneous- 1y moves the breasts inwardly. This type of movement and positioning of the breasts is desired by many women, particularly when wearing formal gowns and other dresses with a low front neckline.

In order to accomplish this result, we use a breast pad and brassiere structure which is similar to that disclosed in the above mentioned application, but with the breast pads being set at an angle with respect to the brassiere.

-In this way, the elevating mound of each breast pad is disposed toward the outside of the breast cup and the hollow recess which is adapted to receive the breast is disposed toward the upper and inner side of the breast cup. The breasts are thus brought and held closer together as well as elevated. The front of the brassiere between the breast cups is depressed, to prevent it from showing when a dress with a plunged neckline is worn.

The breast pads are enclosed by arcuate wires which are curved so that they also tend to move the breasts inwardly as well as upwardly.

Our invention also comprises such other objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by our invention.

While we have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is an elevational view of the inside of our brassiere, partly broken away to show the interior structure;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the right breast. pad in position, with the covering thereover removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the left breast cup wire;

Fig. 5 is an inside view of the pad which fits over the left breast of the wearer;

Fig. 6 is an inside view of the pad which fits over the right breast of the wearer;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view, taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 5;

.Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the pad which fits over the left breast of the wearer;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the pad which fits over the right breast of the wearer;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the brassiere taken through the center of one pad, looking toward the mound.

A preferred embodiment which has been selected to illustrate our invention comprises a brassiere 10 having a pair of elongated elastic portions 11 at its opposite ends which are adapted to extend around the sides of the wearer to adjacent the center of the back. The free ends of the elastic portions are provided with end bands 12 carrying suitable fastening means enabling them to be attached to each other to hold the brassiere in place on the body of the wearer. The elastic portions 11 are preferably formed of elastic nylon mesh material.

A bottom elastic tape 13 extends across the entire bottom edge of the brassiere 10 and is adapted to yield to permit the brassiere to adjust itself to the body contours of the wearer. The inner ends of the elastic portions 11 are attached to a pair of bias tapes 15 which extend around a pair of vertical stays 14. The stays 14 are preferably formed of slightly resilient flat bands of metal. A pair of upper elastic tapes 18 extend across the upper edges of elastic portions 11 from the free ends of elastic portions 11 to a point slightly beyond the stays 14.

The front portion of our brassiere comprises a pair of cloth pieces 16 which are attached at their bottom edges to the bottom elastic tape 13, at their outside edges to the bias tape 15. The upper edges of the cloth pieces 16 are curved and are stitched around a pair of arcuate flat spring steel wires 19. The wires 19 define the bottom and lower side edges of the breast cups of our brassiere. They are sufiiciently yieldable so that their free ends can be stretched apart, while the bottom remains substantially unchanged.

The inner ends of the wires 19 are disposed adjacent the lateral mid-portions of the breast cups, while the outer ends extend substantially parallel to and adjacent the stays 14 and terminate at the top of the brassiere. The wires 19 may be described as having a contour similar to an open U, with the ends of the U being directed away from each other instead of being parallel to each other.

The breast cup portions of our brassiere include an outer layer 23 and an inner layer 24, both of which are formed of cloth. These layers are stitched along their lower edges to the top edges of the cloth pieces 16, extending around the wires 19. The stitching which attaches them together thus defines a pair of U- shaped channels in which the wires 19 are held. A pair of U-shaped strips of cotton flannel tufting 2d are also provided on the inside of the brassiere and held by the same stitching in order to prevent the wires 19 from causing any discomfort to the wearer.

A pair of breast pads are mounted between layers 23 and 24 in the breast cup portions of our brassieres. The pads 25 are preferably formed of foam rubber or similar suitable resilient material and are best formed by molding. The pads for both sides of the brassiere are identically formed. The pads 25 are of unusual shape and contour to serve the purpose of our invention. Each pad is provided adjacent the bottom thereof with a substantially hemispherical convex mound 31. It should be noted that the mound 31 rises abruptly from the bottom edge of the pad so that when the pad is viewed from the side, the mound 31 extends rearwardly from the pad, The sides of the mound 31 slope otf into hollow portions within the interior of the pad above and on both sides of the mound 31.

The breast pads 25 are held in place by stitching in the following manner. A pair of arcuate bias tapes 27 extend across the top edges of the breast cups. Each of the bias tapes 27 is attached to the layers 23 and 2d by a pair of arcuate stitches 29. The bottom stitch extends through a thin edge 26 which is provided around the top and upper side edges of the breast pad 25. Such stitching extends from the point designated X in Fig. l of the drawings to X and from X to X The innermost of the pair of stitches defining the channels arouncl Wires 19 also extends through the thin upper side of the pads 25 from the points marked X to the points marked Y in Fig. 1. The remainder of the breast pad 25 between the points Y extending around the bottom of the pad is left entirely free and unattached.

The pads 25 are mounted within the breast cups at a slight angle so that the mounds 31 are disposed toward the outside of the breast cups. The center of each mound 31 is thus disposed beneath the horizontal axis of the pad and breast cup and to the outside of their vertical axis.

In use, the lower portion of the mound 31 is pressed flatly against the body of the wearer beneath the breast. The breast is accordingly forced to dispose itself so that it encircles the mound 31, fitting into the hollow portions 39 above and on the sides of the mound and being restricted on the lower side by the wires 1d. The hollow portions 30 encircle the mound 31, extending from adjacent the bottom of the pad 25 on one side of the mound 31 continuously around the mound 31 to adjacent the bottom of the opposite side of the pad.

In use, the breasts of the wearer are held within the hollow portions Bill of the pads 25. Downward movement of the breasts is prevented by the mound 31, the bottom of which. fits snugly against the body of the wearer beneath the breast. Since the pads 25 are set at an angle, the hollow portions 30 describe an arc which extends along the upper and inner portions of the breast cups. The breasts are thus held in the desired elevated and inwardly directed position.

It will be noted that the portion of the brassiere between the breast cups is cut extremely low to permit the wearer to expose a greater amount of breast cleavage without the brassiere itself becoming exposed.

The upper portion of the pad 25 supports the upper portion of the breast cup so that the breast cup stays up without requiring the use of straps. The mound 31 bulges toward the body of the wearer to make contact with the body so that the wire cannot exert any unpleasant pressure against the body. Since the bottom of the pad 25 is unattached to the brassiere, the mound 31 is free to be slightly shifted about between the layers 23 and 24 in order to be adjusted to the most comfortable position for the wearer.

In use, the elastic portions 11 are preferably slightly stretched by the bodyof the wearer. In turn, they exert pressure on the upper free ends of the wires 19 to stretch them slightly farther apart at the top. The side edges of the breasts are held by the wires 19 and pads 25, while the lower portions of the breasts are disposed above the mounds 31. The outside of the lower portions of the breast pad 25' is convex vertically and horizontally in order to continuethe line and contour of the elevated and rounded breast.

in commercial manufacture, a decorative layer of material 35 may be provided on the outside of the breast cups, being superimposed over the outer layer 23 to enhance the appearance of the brassiere. Suitable lace trim may also be provided along the top edges of the breast cups and the decorative appearance of the brassiere may be altered as desired without affecting the operation of our invention.

We claim l. A brassiere having a pair of breast cups, a breast pad disposed within each of said breast cups, each of said breast pads being formed of foam rubber or the like, each of said breast pads having a generally convex exterior and a generally concave hollow interior adapted to receive and substantially enclose a human breast, said breast pads being substantially equal in area to said breast cups, each of said breast pads having a. substantially convex mound disposed within the hollow interior thereof, said mounds being disposed toward the lower and outer portions of said breast pads, said mounds being adapted to fit beneath the outer sides of the breasts of the wearer, with the lower portions of said mounds bearing against the body beneath the breasts and the upper portions of said mounds exerting pressure against the breasts tending to move them simultaneously inwardly and upwardly, each of said breast pads having a thin edge extending across the top and upper side portions thereof, stitching extending through said thin edges and through the material forming said breast cups to mount said breast pads in said breast cups, the lower portions of said pads being free from attachment to said breast cups to permit said pads and particularly said mounds to shift their positions Within said breast cups to adjust to the contour of the breasts and body of the wearer.

2. A brassiere having a pair of breast cups, a breast pad disposed within each of said breast cups, each of said breast pads being formed of foam rubber or the like, each of said breast pads having a generally convex exterior and a generally concave hollow interior adapted to receive and substantially enclose a human breast, said breast pads being substantially equal in area to said breast cups, each of said breast pads having a substantially convex mound disposed within the hollow interior thereof, said mounds being disposed toward the lower portions of said breast pads, said mounds being adapted to fit beneath the breasts of the wearer, with the lower portions of said mounds bearing against the body beneath the breasts and the upper portions of said mounds exerting pressure against the breasts tending to move them upwardly, each of said breast pads having a thin edge extending across the top and upper side portions thereof, stitching extending through said thin edges and through the material forming said breast cups to mount said breast pads in said breast cups, the lower portions of said pads being free from attachment to said breast cups to permit said pads and particularly said mounds to shift their positions within said breast cups to adjust to the contour of the breasts and body of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,563,241 Herbener Aug. 7, 1951 2,579,545 Cadous Dec. 25, 1951 2,664,571 Kempel Jan. 5, 1954 

